Windows 'Threshold Microsoft's plan to win over Windows 7 users

Over at ZDnet Mary Jo wrote an intersting article on Microsoft's main goals with 'Threshold,' the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold-outs. According her this update arrive around Spring 2015. One of the main goals of this new release, which may or may not be called Windows 9, will be to bring Windows 7 users back to the fold.

Threshold will reportedly have lots of new features specifically aimed at desktops users and will reportedly have a different look based on your hardware type:

And not too surprisingly, one of the Microsoft Operating Systems Group's main goals in designing and developing the coming operating system (OS) release — which may or may not ultimately be branded as "Windows 9" — is to try to make it more palatable to hold-out Windows 7 users.

In order to do this, Microsoft is working on including in Threshold lots of new features specifically aimed at "desktop" users, meaning those who interact primarily with their Windows computing device from a desktop or laptop PC with mouse/keyboard and optional touch.

With Windows 8.1 Update, Microsoft officials designed Windows around a set of profiles based on the hardware specifications of the devices in use. Certain devices running Windows 8.1 Update include Power and Search buttons on the Metro-style Start screen; others don't. Some of those running Windows 8.1 Update have their machines start up by default in the Desktop/Win32 legacy environment, while others on touch/mobile-first devices start up in the Metro-Style Start Menu by default.

According to my sources, Microsoft will continue in this vein with Windows Threshold. The Threshold OS will look and work differently based on hardware type.

Users running Threshold on a desktop/laptop will get a SKU, or version, that puts the Windows Desktop (for running Win32/legacy apps) front and center. Two-in-one devices, like the Lenovo Yoga or Surface Pro, will support switching between the Metro-Style mode and the Windowed mode, based on whether or not keyboards are connected or disconnected.

The combined Phone/Tablet SKU of Threshold won't have a Desktop environment at all, but still will support apps running side by side, my sources are reconfirming. This "Threshold Mobile" SKU will work on ARM-based Windows Phones (not just Lumias), ARM-based Windows tablets and, I believe, Intel-Atom-based tablets.

One of Microsoft's primary missions with Threshold is to try to undo the usability mistakes made with Windows 8 for those who prefer and/or are stuck with devices that are not touch-first and for which keyboard/mouse use is of central importance.

The Desktop/laptop SKU of Threshold will include, as previously rumored, the Mini-Start menu — a new version of the traditional Microsoft Start menu, an early concept of which Microsoft showed off at the company's Build developers conference in April. It also will include the ability to run Metro-Style/Windows Store apps in windows on the Desktop. Will it turn off completely the Metro-Style Start screen with its live-tile interface, as Neowin is reporting, and make the tiled Start screen a toggleable option from the Mini Start menu? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised.

(Update: It's worth pointing out the Mini Start menu is expected to be customizable. Users will be able to include Metro-Style apps or remove all Metro Style apps/tiles from the menu so that only Desktop apps are included in the Mini Start menu — either as tiles or in list form.)

Between now and Threshold: What's next?Before Threshold is released next spring, Microsoft is expected to deliver a public preview of the Threshold release, most likely in the fall of 2014, my sources say.

And before that, Microsoft will deliver a second and final update for Windows 8.1. Since Microsoft officials decided earlier this year to make the Mini Start Menu part of Threshold instead of Update 2, there's not a whole lot of new features of note coming in Update 2. There may be some UI adjustments and tweaks, but nothing hugely noticeable, my sources claim.

Windows 8.1 Update 2 should be code complete any time now and will be locked down about two weeks before August Patch Tuesday, my sources say. (August Patch Tuesday is on August 12.) Microsoft may opt to not make a big deal out of Update 2 and just push it out quietly as part of the set of August patches, I hear.

The Microsoft OS team is hoping to get as many Windows 7 users moved to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8 users to Windows 8.1 Update in preparation for (hopefully) getting them to move to Threshold once it is out. It's still early in the Windows development cycle for Microsoft to have decided on packaging, pricing and distribution, but my sources say, at this point, that Windows Threshold is looking like it could be free to all Windows 8.1 Update, and maybe even Windows 7 Service Pack 1, users.

Microsoft is basically "done" with Windows 8.x. Regardless of how usable or functional it is or isn't, it has become Microsoft's Vista 2.0 — something from which Microsoft needs to distance itself, perception-wise. At this point, Microsoft is going full-steam-ahead toward Threshold and will do its best to differentiate that OS release from Windows 8.

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Apart from that i see quite a lot of comments everywhere on the web from people who have a kind of issues with Win 8.x... Drivers, Software, Hardware etc.

My Norton Ghost 15 doesn't work on Win 8.x either.

In all fairness, Norton Ghost 15 not working in Windows 8.x is as much a failure on Norton's side to not resolve the compatibility issues as it is Microsoft's Fault.

It's also the case that Norton Ghost 15 is over 4 years old, and the way it functions it explicitly requires supporting the OS. So, it's actually nothing to do with the way Microsoft have done things, they can't keep holding back Windows just to support the odd program.

The same goes for hardware support. Sure, some people have had problems with drivers, it's simply because the company hasn't provided an updated driver. That is a failure of the hardware company, not Microsoft.

#4863021 Posted on: 07/02/2014 10:41 AM
since my workstations for audio and video editing are working fast and stable with win7 x64, i don`t see any reason to change to 8 or 9. if there is not a massive improvement in any kind of the relevant features, like hardware support, system stability, driver and 3rd party software compatibility / support there is no reason to buy this.

just because of bling menu`s and fancy social stuff, i wont spend money.

if there is a noticeable speed up in games, i will consider 9 for my gaming rig, noticeable !

Loobyluggs
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#4863028 Posted on: 07/02/2014 10:56 AM
They made a great OS with win7. They have themselves to blame.

Win8 is nice (minus metro) and my games run well, so unless win9 is dirt cheap (win8 cost me £25) they are gonna need to do a lot to get me to upgrade.

Win8 users should be a greater concern than win7, because win7 is great.

Sorry.

DmitryKo
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#4863032 Posted on: 07/02/2014 11:13 AM
I observe that all the bragging and moaning about OS changes and new UI has been following the same basic pattern since at least Windows 95 (and it probably goes even farther than that).

Rich_Guy
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#4863077 Posted on: 07/02/2014 12:42 PM
Don't know why, we all know they ain't gona do Dx12 for Win 7, thats enough to get us moving.

TheDeeGee
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#4863081 Posted on: 07/02/2014 12:48 PM

Don't know why, we all know they ain't gona do Dx12 for Win 7, thats enough to get us moving.

Untill DX12 Games appear Windows 9 (XP 3) is out.

Also Game Developers wont push DX12 only Games for a while, as more than half the people still use Vista/7. So they miss out on a lot of sales.

NAMEk
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#4863091 Posted on: 07/02/2014 01:10 PM

Don't know why, we all know they ain't gona do Dx12 for Win 7, thats enough to get us moving.

Also Game Developers wont push DX12 only Games for a while, as more than half the people still use Vista/7. So they miss out on a lot of sales.

Are you imply that Windows 9 is going to be awful at launch and take nearly 2 years to get good?

And yeah maybe not DX12 only games but they will have DX12 support -- everything that ships on Xbox is going to be DX12 so the ports will be as well.

I observe that all the bragging and moaning about OS changes and new UI has been following the same basic pattern since at least Windows 95 (and it probably goes even farther than that).

It does. In fact since I can remember, I think Windows 7 was the only OS that launched completely without a hitch -- other then the people crying about how Vista should have just been upgraded with all the changes for free.

NAMEk
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#4863095 Posted on: 07/02/2014 01:15 PM
Are you imply that Windows 9 is going to be awful at launch and take nearly 2 years to get good?

And yeah maybe not DX12 only games but they will have DX12 support -- everything that ships on Xbox is going to be DX12 so the ports will be as well.

Developers won't lose such huge audience just for the sake of DX12.

Denial
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#4863099 Posted on: 07/02/2014 01:20 PM

Developers won't lose such huge audience just for the sake of DX12.

Hence the reason why I said "not DX12 only games". They will support DX12, along with 11, etc. The same way most of them do now. But all games post Xbox SDK launch will ship with 12 -- which is something that 11 and 10 never really had. Adoption of 12 is going to be significantly quicker due to that and the fact that DX11 hardware is capable of supporting most of DX12.

I know I'll be upgrading for it.

NAMEk
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#4863101 Posted on: 07/02/2014 01:21 PM

Hence the reason why I said "not DX12 only games". They will support DX12, along with 11, etc. The same way most of them do now.

My bad...

Fender178
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#4863138 Posted on: 07/02/2014 02:41 PM

No surprise at all.Its a fail for the company that most of its users still uses its 5 years old Windows 7.

Um most of Windows 7's users are business users. In 2012 Windows 7 finally overtaken XP as top dog in market share. So MS has to appeal to their demographic as far as market share goes which is windows 7. So it has taken a while for Business users go from Xp to 7.